Inmate re-entry costs too high

1:56 PM,
Mar. 18, 2014

Written by

Northeast Mississippi Journal
Tupelo

Recidivism is a fancy word that means two things: Human lives wasted and taxpayer dollars squandered. Its literal meaning, of course, is criminal relapse. The recidivism rate is the rate at which inmates who've been in prison return.

In Mississippi, it's nearly one in three within three years after their release.

That's a stunning statistic, and the people who run the criminal justice system believe they know a big reason why it's so high. Prisoners set free are, for the most part, simply not adequately equipped for their re-entry into society. ...